Anna Atkins

Anna Atkins (British, 1799 - 1871) was the first person to illustrate a book with a photographic images, but Atkins didn’t use a camera, she produced photograms using a simple chemical process. Laying specimens of dried algae onto sensitised paper and exposing them to light created detailed Prussian blueprints of botanical specimens.

Atkins’ innovative use of new photographic technologies brought together art and science, and exemplified the exceptional potential of photography in books. Before photography was invented, scientists were reliant on detailed yet often unreliable descriptions and illustrations to record specimens’ form and colour. She self-published her meticulous botanical images using the cyanotype photographic process in her 1843 book, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, which was followed by two more volumes between 1843 and 1853. 

Atkins was the daughter of the well-respected scientist, John George Children, who was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1807. He was also the first president of the Royal Entomological Society of London, which permitted her involvement in science that would otherwise have been impossible as women were restricted from professionally practising science for most of the nineteenth century. Botany, considered a suitably genteel hobby for women and especially botanical art and illustration, was a subject that was accessible to all. 

Atkins ground-breaking photographs were almost forgotten by the late 19th century and in 1889, a collector writing about her work proposed that the initials “A. A.”, Atkins signature, stood for “Anonymous Amateur”. In recent years scholars and artists have celebrated Atkins’s contributions to science, technology, publishing, and art, and the importance of her work continues to be recognised today and has been displayed in many internationally acclaimed exhibitions.